Over time this page will be developed to include philosophy of, forms of, links, and reasearch about meditation, lessons on life, thoughts on achieving life (dreams, goals, etc), and similar views.. The Meditation found on this page is the expanded version from the Welcome page. We will be adding a link to previous Meditations in December 2010!
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"The Attitude...Action of Gratitude"

Thoughts & Lesson:
"Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can - there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did."~Sarah Caldwell

In every experience we have, be it one that brings us joy or sadness, that we count as negative or positive we learn! Every moment we are given the chance to grow in our knowledge, understanding, compassion, and connection to other people and life itself.

This month we have the tradition of Thanksgiving as well as Veterans Day. These days are two of many special times that we are called to think about the gratitude we have for all that we have: all that we have learned and experienced. We are also called to see that greatness and understand the gratitude we have for other people for whom witout we would not be granted our freedoms and experiences.

Remember that in recognizing the lessons we have learned we owe a degree of gratitude even to that which may have previously been frustrating, angersome, or saddening. The attitude of gratitude is on the positive but it is also to recognize the gifts that come from lifes challenges, difficulties, and struggles.

The attitude of gratitude is one that will bring a light to you every day and every moment that you are mindful of it. On the special days and times, such as those this month, this attitude goes further calling us to more fully express this gratitude, appreciation, and acknowledgement. The attitude becomes an action.

Actions to express our gratitude range from finding the person or people that are in our lives and giving thanks to them to visiting people that we may not be so directly related to and both learning and sharing our gratitude for them. The action is one that is between/within our family, circle of friends, community, country, and world.

Take time this month as well as in your daily life to have the attitude of gratitude... but also to have the action of that attitude!

Meditation & Action:
Find a quiet place where you can sit comfortably. Bring your journal or a notepad with you to write out some questions before and after the meditation.

The questions to write are yours to alter, add to, or subtract from, but may include:
Who has helped you grow in the last year?
Who and what groups of people have enabled you to learn?
Who and what groups have both directly or indirectly been part of what has let you have the freedoms and abilities you do?

With these written down and glanced over take some deep breathes and center on where you are and what the sensations are around you and within your body.

Let yourself drift through yourself taking note of how amazing and seemingly magical it is to be able to have the abilties you have, the beauty of how your body functions and the qualities of this. Experience in your thoughts the gifts that you have been given, the lessons you have learned, the joy of this life that you have been given.

As you work your way from your feet up through your body with this awareness come to focus on your mind and that aspect of your heart that connects you to your environment and the people in your life.

Connect with this core and travel the radiant beams of connection visiting each of the people, the places, the events that you are connected to. Sense and imagine these beams of softness and light surrounding you and the person, place, or item. Feel the love you have and the gratitude you share for each of these individually.

Then bring into these beams and feelings of surrounding love and light other people, places, and items that you have led you to grow, to learn. Embrace the aspects of your experiences that enabled you to grow and focus only on these positive aspects briefly as you move further adding more people, groups, places, items, animals, and similar into this growing scene of love and gratitude.

As this image and feeling grows begin to picture the earth and all life. See a web of light, gratitude, and love that connects to each person, each place, each time. Feel your connection to this web, feel the sense of love and gratitude you have for this web and for Earth. You may at this time picture God/Goddess or the Ultimate as you understand it and the gratitude for this Ultimate and all of creation.

Begin to cycle back down letting the Earth, the larger groups, the places, and so forth drift to where they are part of this scene of light and love but your focus comes back to those people that are closes to you. With these people in mind ask yourself, as them, what way you can further show the gratitude you have in a way that you are able, willing, and will do. Hold the answers so that you will remember and bring your focus back to your body.

Give thanks to yourself for your abilities, your gifts, and your gratitude. Ask yourself how and what you can, are able, and will do to give gratitude to yourself.

Take a few deep breaths and open your eyes.

Write down the people you found yourself closest to and what actions you will take to further show them the gratitude you have. Also list what actions you will take to show gratitude also to yourself. Remember to take these actions!

Meditation & Lesson written by: Debra Macking
To contribute a meditation e-mail achievinglife@gmail.com